~xa-slave Stories	~ Tiiree	• . ‚ ‚~‚
(Texas)		  „







	I, When a C o~pl e want t o gi t marry on de old Romaine pi ace ‚ uncle sent for de priest from St. Martin. Dey wasn‘t no priest rxind Franklin or what dey call New Iberia lat,r. When I~s most a crowed boy~4e priest come baptise ‘bout forty of us. He use de‘ waterou~t uncle‘s cistern for de ceremony..

When us gojfl~ down d.c road to de baptism‘ deyts a sqiiirrel ru~n tcr•oss de road ~nd us chilien all broke and run to cotch it. Law, dat jus‘ ‘bout s.ca~ my ~ld godmother to death. She took so mu.ch pain dat us ail nice and. clean and ‘fraid. us git dirty. Her name was Nana Rpjnon Boutet and she live here in Ames settlcment for many year. Us laugh man.y time 1bout dat squirrel.,

	“Dey used to call us de free Mulattoes from ‘cross de bayou. De neares~ town was Pattersonville and it five mile away. Now dey calls de settlement Vidrinville for olcd. man Romaine Vidrine • De plentation suppor‘ a grist mill and a raw sugar mill. Dey make de sugar dark, big grain, tcause dey aintt no ‘finery in dein dRys. Dey put de s~ug~r in big five hunerd. pound hogahead arid take it by boat down de ~eche to New Orleans and sell it. Dey use de money to buy coffee and. cotton, Us didn‘t raise cotton. I never see no cotton till t8 a bi~. boy and C orne t o sort LaF~yet te.

	“De grist mill was built ‚ wa~ fi‘ ~ de house, ‚ Dey have a long lever what stand out ..de side and hitch hosses with. a rawhide belt to make de mill turn., Us folks,aIl.~‘aise .rice~ ‚Not likenow, Lawdy, no. Dey jes‘.plAnt,z‘ice in rows like corn ~zd .. cultivate it like an~r other crop, Dey wasn‘t no irrigatioli &it~h. ~&fter~dez‘jce,harves‘ dey,pttt it :~ a mortar make ~‚t .a.ç ~v~~sI9g O~ ~O~ÇIC, ELZ4 pP~d~ ~ ~ ~ wtth,,~4ep~stle, ~ ‚ . . ... ‚ ..‚~„ . .. .‚~ ~ ~ ~. ~. ‘:.